’Horns top Hampton as backup QB shines

Curtis Carden
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Sep 27, 2013 at 11:01 PM

HAMPTON — It was Justin Pardue’s time to shine and he made the most of it.The sophomore Longhorn quarterback threw for two scores and Patrick South tacked on a score late for Johnson County’s 21-9 victory over Hampton at J.C. Campbell Stadium Friday night.Pardue, who completed 5 of 13 passes for 88 yards, was starting in place of Warren Kerley, who is out with a shoulder injury.“He did what we asked him to,” said Johnson County coach Mike Atwood, whose team improved to 2-3. “He really did a good job of managing the game.”The sophomore quarterback tossed TD passes from 41 and 30 yards out to Greg Roark in the first halftime while the defense held the Bulldogs (2-3) scoreless.“Our defense killed it tonight,” Pardue said. “They played great last week and kept it up tonight. They had a big fourth down stop, it was huge.”The ‘Horns got an interception by Cody Bailie and sacks from Cole Peters in the first half.Hampton stemmed a late rally in the fourth quarter thanks to a safety from John Cole with 8:41 left in the game.On the ensuing free kick, Dillon Ford took the ball 53 yards, and the possession was capped off by a Coby Jones 3-yard touchdown scamper to move to the score to 14-9.Johnson County used a steady diet of South (24 carries, 209 yards, TD), who accounted for 86 yards on the next possession and capped on the drive with a three-yard score with less than two minutes in the game.“It was a big for us,” Atwood said on their last scoring drive. “It was big to get that off us and take that in for a score.”It was just an avalanche of mistakes, Hampton coach Mike Lunsford said.“We just made too many mistakes out there tonight,” he added. “Too many guys in the field, missed blocking assignments. You can’t take anything away from Johnson County, they played great tonight.”Peyton Fenner led Johnson County with 11 tackles with Seth Billingsley (nine).Hampton travels to North Greene next week while Johnson County hosts Sullivan North.